Calvert Cliffs State Park

With the big snowstorm making travel a challenge, its been a while since we've gotten the dogs out for a really good hike. And though Fozzie and Dahlia are both well past the Psycho Zoomie Evening Pup stage that most of our foster dogs have epitomized, they have seemed a bit restless of late. So the plan was to use the long weekend to get them some quality off-leash time. 

We decided to check out Calvert Cliffs State Park along the Chesapeake Bay. 

As bitter cold as it was, we figured that we could enjoy some off-season fun with the dogs running free and no fellow dog walkers, or uptight dog-hating control freaks, to get in the way. 

  
I didn't remember how dramatic this place was. There's a trail through the woods that eventually leads down the cliff to the water, 










and amazing views of the bay from the trail.

Just as we had hoped, there was no one around so of course we let the pups run free. 

Soon after which we did encounter one uptight dog-hating control freak and his contrite wife, so we put the leashes on and proceeded to the beach. 

Look at that blue sky! 

So joyful to be there with my babies. 












And the wide open expanse of sand and salt water, 

and the low sand dunes with vegetation gradually colonizing, creating habitat for untold crustaceans and insects and diverse marine fauna. 

This is a great place to come in the summer to sunbathe, kayak, and play in the water. But there are things you experience in the winter that you don't otherwise.

and there was a distinct smell of rotting vegetation. Noted marine scientist Florian reminded me that the ice-bound water is deprived of circulation, so the smell was nothing more than rotting sea vegetation. Didn't detract from the beauty of the day. 

I still felt though that the dogs were owed a real good run COMPLETELY free of uptight dog-hating craptastic control freaks. 

Nature apparently agreed because overnight, a snowfall guaranteed that the craptastic-est of the control freaks would stay home, leaving the trail to us. 

We headed to the Northwest Branch Trail, just a mile or two from my house but which goes for miles through the woods along the Anacostia River.










Finally a deserted trail where the dogs could run unmolested. 

Or I should say unmolested by humans, as I'm afraid Fozzie could not shake his own diminutive, persistent molester, 

who despite miles and miles of stream and rock and branch and squirrels and countless good things to sniff and explore, 












chose to remain close to Fozzie where she could nip, chew, and hump him to her heart's content. 

So I leashed the little creep. And we enjoyed our beautiful hike in the snow.

End-of-Summer Round Up

These weeks have included some quiet pleasures and a few new discoveries. 

While it was still near 100 and humid, it was a good time to go spend some time with Aunt Nancy at the pool.

Dahlia loves being outside with us all day, sunbathing--with lots of sunblock on her ears and nose-- 

getting lots of affection,

 and her favorite, being around the people food. 

Better enjoy the pool while we can, because after that it started to cool off. 

Still lots of opportunities to take the dogs into the woods and let them run so they get nice and tired, 

and at the first puddle Dahlia just can't resist the opportunity to lie down in it 



and then roll around so her entire head gets covered in mud.













Good thing we were near a stream so we could rinse that thing off well. 

Why is it that the more disgusting and idiotic they are, the more irresistible? 

Canoeing with the Dogs: Good to Try Once

Another weekend, another chance to spend time outdoors and in the water. 
Saturday was a nice relaxing day at my aunt's pool. I generally don't bring my dogs as I want my aunt to invite me back, but I have been feeling particularly in love with Dahlia lately and couldn't resist bringing her. 

She was actually really well-behaved, sitting quietly under my feet as we ate lunch then enjoying herself in the fountain. 

She only harassed my aunt's dog Charlie when we went outside, so I leashed her up and used the opportunity for some make-out time. 

Staying at my aunt's place is so relaxing, time easily gets away from you. Fortunately, my dad was there to keep us on task so I got home right when Florian got home from teaching, and we were able to head to a nearby reservoir for a dog-free date nite on the boat. 

Really nothing better than getting out in the boat in the late afternoon, when the air is still and the sun is less intense. And yes, it's pretty amazing to have some dog-free time too.

Shhh! Did I say that?

Well don't worry, dog-free time never lasts for long around here. Sunday it was time to bring the dogs for a hike. We chose Tuckahoe State Park, not too far once you cross the Bay Bridge in Maryland. 

We took a nice trail for a while, but there was no water on the trail, the dogs were thirsty, and it was hot. Plus, we were both exhausted ...Florian has for some reason been teaching an insane number of classes lately, and I've been pulling weeds and rearranging plants and rocks with a vengeance. 

We saw that near the trail there was a lake and a place where they rented canoes. We thought, why not? 

We've been thinking a lot about boats, fantasizing about getting a boat that the dogs could go in, like a canoe or like the porta bote that our boat-savvy friend Pamela told us about.

And we learned something, namely that it would take some doing to get our dogs comfortable with riding in any boat. 


A canoe looks pretty stable from the outside, but try riding in one with two big dogs who are constantly shifting around, leaning over the edge, and occasionally humping one another. 

It was fun, but maybe not as relaxing as one might hope. 

The canoe was very unstable and responsive to changes in weight. When the dogs sat or lay down in the middle of the boat all was well, but they didn't do that often. When they shifted, they tended to shift to the same side, both at once, and I was pretty sure we were going to capsize more than once. 

So after a while I disembarked with the dogs and had a nice walk around the lake while Florian explored in the canoe.

That was more relaxing for everybody, though of course Fozzie got anxious that his people were separated.

They both relaxed once they could go in the water, especially Fozzie as he is an old pro. Dahlia usually tries to avoid deep water, as I don't think she knows that she knows how to swim. When she unexpectedly went into a deep part though, she seemed to do just fine!

Seems to me that all dogs know how to swim, they just need some practice to realize that it comes naturally to them.

Even if they are terrible at canoeing. 

How does YOUR dog do on the water?

It's Official: Why I Completely Failed at Fostering Dahlia

As probably very few of you will be surprised to learn, last week I signed the papers to make Dahlia my forever little squishy beanbag. 

We've had her since last August. 











As time went on I was getting more and more attached to her snorts, her kisses, her snorting kisses and her bad breath and her little tiny squishy body, but I kept holding out. Part of me wanted to avoid having not one but two strong, hard-to-walk dogs, part of me felt bad for Fozzie having to put up with her nonsense. A big part of me wanted the simplicity of one dog and having always a space open for a foster. 

But in the end, there were some other factors that were much bigger than these excuses.

Like how she likes to lie down in cool water, 

and roll around so all of her gets wet.
 

Like how she loves people, and greets new humans gently and with joy. 

Like how she looks absolutely ridiculous in her winter hoodie,

and how she is not a picky eater and really helps with prewash when you have people over and a bunch of dishes to deal with.

Like how she gurgles and snorts and convulses on flat surfaces, 

especially after I have applied sunblock to the pink areas of her face and belly.
















Like the fact that she is just. So. Weird. 















She is like a little snorting, snoring, biting, loving, humping, convulsing, deaf alien. All dogs are kind of bizarre but she just takes it to a whole new level. 

Then there's the fact that although she pesters Fozzie, he seems to actually like her. 


Often he's the instigator of their wrestling hump sessions, which I know doesn't mean that they're necessarily healthy... 




















but he's not avoiding her, not afraid of her, and just seems to kinda like her. 

Maybe this is telling, but some of the times I love her most are when she's sleeping. Like when she digs the pillows on the couch into a comfy little nest and like how she snores loudly and how she doesn't wake up when I come home. 

Like when she collapses in a heavy thunk on the floor, 

and lies there in complete trust, usually with one back paw extended out the back so she looks like a little semi colon.










Or when she curls up into a tiny ball 

or a tiny compact shape like a beanbag.

and just snores.

But really the thing about Dahlia is the way it feels to think about her, to be with her, to wrap my arms around her compact form and squish her little mouth and feel her hot, foul breath and see the devotion--with a touch of mischief--in her eyes. 






 
I think it's called love.